Oil Ocean
by Mama Bunny
Summary: [FFRK characters in a modern AU FFII world!] The Highwind family is moving across the world to find work. Canti, Cid's daughter, faces all the transitions in her life with apprehension, but she puts her best foot forward anyway! ONE-SHOT! (Written to cope with anxiety regarding moving and other changes.)


Oil Ocean

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. Their characters just seem to like falling into my stories somehow.

Based on: Final Fantasy Record Keeper x Final Fantasy II

Notes: This is a modern day AU of FF2 featuring my FFRK characters. I'd debating writing this for a long time, but thanks to Writer-of-Worlds and her constant encouragement, I finally felt like actually writing it! Just wanna thank her for that! Yes, Dawn, CxM can be happy. This makes it happy. You're welcome. Also I know I said this was going to be a one-shot, but I all ready started writing up more for after the end to this, so who knows! I don't. I just... really love writing this couple and I fucking love these characters and it makes me happy so. YEAH. DEAL. Or not. I don't care.

STORY START!

Canti Highwind didn't want to move, but here she was, packing up everything she owned into boxes. Those boxes were being loaded onto a truck, and that truck would take them to a ship, and that ship would be sailing across the world to the port on the south end of the desert island land of Palamecia. She, along with her cousin and her father, would be traveling by air. They would arrive before their belongings, but they'd be immediately moved into a new home. She had no idea what that home would be like. She had no idea what the people there would be like, or even if they would speak the same language she did. All she was told was that they had to move to make money to survive, and that the Palamecian government was supporting all immigrating workers. So here she was, boxing up books and tools. Everything she'd ever owned only amounted to a good five boxes, not including what she'd be carrying in her backpack with her for the trek.

"You about ready?" her father stuck his head into her now near featureless bedroom. There was no need to take the barren furniture, so those were all left where they had been standing since they were put together years ago. It was weird to see her bed without her blankets, pillows, and favorite stuffed animals on top of it. "The truck's out front."

"Yes, Papa," she said, frowning. She picked up one of her boxes, and started to head through the hallway that was just as empty as the walls of her room. It used to be full of pictures of friends and family, but now all of those were packed away, too. The living room was almost the same, since they weren't taking furniture. Belongings and all that weren't there, but just staring at it, Canti was able to see it all still there. She'd lived here for most of her life. Seeing it so empty... that, that just felt so strange. She heard the rumbling of the moving truck outside, so she kept carrying her box so she could put it in there.

"Did you write your name on the box?" a voice asked from the back of the truck. "You have to mark it, or the movers will throw it out. That's the rules. You don't want to lose anything, do you, Canti?" He extended his hand to her with a thick black marker in case she needed it.

She nodded, taking the marker out of his hand. "Of course I don't, Kain," she replied, writing her name as clearly as she could on all sides of the box. Then Kain took it from her and put it into the truck.

"Uncle Cid," Kain said once her father came out again, holding a stack of boxes. "How much is left?"

"Just these, and Canti's boxes," Cid said, passing them to Kain. "And then we'll be set." Cid went back to fetch the rest of Canti's boxes.

"All right," Kain said, making sure all of the boxes were marked before putting them into the truck.

"...Kain..." she said, looking over at him, "Do... you really like the idea of moving to the complete other side of the world?"

Kain shrugged. "Uncle Cid says that we'll find much more work over there."

"I don't want to move."

"Oh, don't be that way," Kain said. "We're moving to have a better life. If we can get more work, then we don't have to worry about anything anymore."

She frowned as Cid brought out the rest of her boxes. "Papa..." she murmured. "...you... really aren't scared of moving?"

"Scared?" Cid laughed at that. "No, I'm not scared. And you shouldn't be, either. Lif'e's gonna be better where we're going!"

"Better...?" she asked, writing her name all over all the boxes that were hers and handing them off so they could be loaded into the truck. It was it, huh? No more boxes of things that belonged in that house, in their home, to send somewhere else. Canti stood up, going back into the house. On the floor next to the door were three backpacks each of them had packed to carry with them during travel. Things to do, important papers and things like that. She picked up hers and strapped it on, knowing what was coming next.

Cid and Kain came in to do the same.

"Is there anything else? Last check, make absolutely sure you have everything," Cid said. "Go look, even if you think you have everything! We can't come back here once we leave, because I've all ready given the keys to the new owner. Once we're gone, we're gone."

Canti did as she was told. She checked every room to see if she might have left something, and with each room she went into, she was remembering all sorts of things. She played games with Kain in his room. Beat him that one time at a fighting game with samurais, and he was so mad! He was supposed to be so much better at it than everyone! She looked into the bathroom and remembered that one time when she slipped and fell, hitting her chin on the metal railing of the bath. Her father was just so panicked that he rushed her to the hospital to be stitched up after that, and from that time on, there were all sorts of shower precautionary rules to make sure no one else had an accident like that. All of the safety mats were taken from the floor and packed up now. She saw Cid's old room, and how his desk that was usually piled up with papers and books was empty. His bed, where she used to crawl into a night when she was scared, was nothing more than a barrent mattress atop a wooden frame. The posters of airplanes and engines were gone. It would have been so simple to put them back up, right? Now this room was just a room, instead of being specifically Papa Cid's room. And then she made her final stop. Her own room. She walked over to the dresser, which had been the place her clothes were stored ever since she came to live here. She put her hand on it, wondering if the next family that came to live here would have another little girl who grew to enjoy this dresser? It had stickers she put all over the sides. Ones that she almost wished she could keep, all this time later. No one anticipates they'll have to leave something like this when they randomly stick a shiny bunny sticker on the side of it like that. It almost made her tear up. This dresser was hers! Thos stickers proved it! No one else would remember how she got that smiley cactuar sticker at the ice cream shop from a vending machine for a handful of gil, or how she won the clown chocobo juggler sticker from a thing at school. Canti walked around her bed and sat on it for the last time, putting her hands down on the bare mattress. She loved this bed! It was comfortable! It was always there to help her rest after hard days! Why did she have to leave it? She sniffled before tears began to glide down her cheeks.

"Hey, baby girl, you read..." Cid stuck his head in, only to see her crying, turned away from the door. "...oh..."

"I don't wanna leave," she said through her tears. "I like my bed, and my dresser, my room... our house..."

Cid sighed, walking over to that side of the bed. He sat next to her, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "It's gonna be better where we're going," he said. "I've been promised a good paying job over there. That means we can have a nicer house."

"But our house is nice," she cried. "And we've made so many memories here."

"We have."

"You used to read stories to me while I was cuddled in this bed!"

"Yes," he nodded. "And when we go to our new house, I'll read stories to you in your new bed."

"What if the bed in that house isn't as comfortable as this one?"

"Then we'll buy you a new one that is more comfortable," Cid said. "You have to remember something very important. We have done all sorts of things in this house. We've made memories of good times, bad times, fun times, and hard times. But those memories, while they're of this house, they'll come with us." He pointed at her chest, motioning at her heart. "Memories are stored in your heart, not where they're made. So we'll always remember the times we've had here no matter how far away we go."

"Papa..."

"Yes?"

"You say that life will be better in the country we're moving to."

"I'm positive life will be better," Cid said, nodding. "I can even promise it! Whatever you want to do, you can do there!"

"But... can't I do everything I want to do here?"

"You could, but I don't think you want to live away from your family. I have to live where there's work for me to do. So... I guess if you want to stay here..."

"Wait! No, Papa! I wanna come with you!"

"So there's nothing to be scared of, is there?" he asked, smiling.

"No. I've got you and Kain!"

"Right! So... did you check everywhere?"

She started to nod, but remembered that she didn't check in her closet. She ran over to it to look inside, to see that it was just as empty as the rest of the house. Then as she was beginning to follow him out of the room, she decided to look under her bed. There was something! She reached for it and pulled out a fluffy, cuddly bunny plush wearing a cute white dress, embroidered with little blue flowers. "Oh, no!" she said, hugging the bunny close to her chest. "I can't believe it!"

"You can't believe what?" Cid looked back at her.

"I almost forgot Lucia!" she said, standing back up. "I'm so glad we did the last check, Papa, or she would have been left here all alone!"

He nodded. "You sure you didn't forget anything else? You better make quick double and triple checks!"

"I got everything," Kain said from the living room.

"NOW I have everything," Canti said, hugging her bunny to her very tightly.

Together the family walked out the front door. Cid gave the signal to the drivers of the moving truck, and Canti watched as the movers closed the truck and locked it. They spoke with Cid about a few things here and there, arranging a date that everything should be able to be picked up and moved to the new house in Palamecia. Cid handed them a handful of gil bills, and they handed him slips of paper which he tucked into his wallet. Very important. Kain signalled for Canti to come and climb into the family truck, where she buckled in and sat with her bunny plush on her lap. Kain sat next to her and buckled in, waiting for Cid to finish. While they sat there quietly, they watched the moving truck drive away, and Cid came up to climb into the truck. After a few minutes, he clicked his seatbelt and looked over at Kain and Canti.

"Time to go!" he said, turning the key into the ignition. "Onto our new adventure!"

Music blasted from the speakers as they drove off from that house for the final time. Canti turned to look back at it as they drove out the driveway and hit the main road. She watched the house get smaller and smaller, until she could no longer see it.

"Papa..." she said, looking up at him.

"Yes, baby girl?"

"...do they speak the same language we do in Palamecia?"

Both Kain and Cid laughed for a moment. "You don't have to worry about that," Kain said, ruffling her hair.

"Currently there aren't many other languages other than common spoken in the world anyway," Cid said. "Most places you go, you'll be speakin' the same you are right now."

She nodded. "That's good. I wouldn't want to go to school and everyone speaking a language I don't know!"

"That would suck," Kain agreed. "Oh, Uncle Cid, did you get my training application sent in?"

"Yes, I did," Cid replied. "You'll be going straight to training almost right after we get there."

"Good. I didn't want to waste any time with that."

"No, you're right..."

"How long is it until the airport?" Canti asked.

"Bout an hour, give or take for traffic," Cid answered.

"...okay," she said, gripping her bunny very tightly. She buried her face into that plush doll's soft fur. So many things were changing around her, so many things she didn't quite understand, But at least this wasn't going to change. Canti would always have her bunny to hold onto when she was scared. She'd always have her small family to support her. She'd always have the important things. Even if comfortable beds were important.

* * *

Airports. Noisy, smelly, busy, trashy. Cries from kids, muffled constant conversation almost impossible to make out unless it was happening right next to you. The carpet was full of consession stand crumbs and stains of literally every color. The pattern of the carpet was uglier than almost any other design ever made by people. Canti did not like this place one bit!

Canti held onto Cid's hand as the family walked through the airport. She used her right hand to cling to her bunny plush. Kain was right behind her, looking around above them, searching for something. A number or letter, or something. When she overheard Kain and Cid talking about it, it sounded like a video game cheat code.

"Gate F6, right?" Kain asked.

"Yeah, I think," Cid answered. He was looking around just as frantically.

"It's over this way," Kain said, pointing down a hall full of people lining up at multiple different desks. "Says up there that all the F gates are this way."

"That's where we're goin' then."

After much pushing through people coming and going, they made it to a desk labeled F6. Canti grunted. That didn't look anything like a gate! That's a desk! They waited behind some other people that smelled even weirder than the people waiting in line to go in the bathroom until they could finally ask about their flight. Cid showed the person at the desk all sorts of papers and identifications before getting any sort of answer.

"Oh, right!" the lady at the desk said, "The flight to Palamecia isn't leaving out of Gate F6! It's been moved to D4!"

"What? Since when?!" Cid asked, panicked.

"Since this morning. You should have checked in online before you came here, sir," the lady said, shrugging. It was pretty clear she didn't give a shit.

"I didn't have the chance, having everything packed up for the last few nights since we're..." he let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head, trying not to lose his temper. "Can you at least tell us where that is? I can't miss that flight! We're trying to get home!"

"Sure. You go around that corner over there and read the signs, you'll find it."

Kain rolled his eyes. "Lot of help you are!" he said, noticing that Canti was tired of all this bullshit. He picked her up and put her on his shoulders. "C'mon, Uncle Cid. There's no reason to put up with this..." he stopped himself before he swore.

Canti yawned from atop her cousin's shoulders, using both hands to hold onto her bunny. "...Meanie lady."

"That's probably the nicest way to put it," Kain agreed with her.

Cid picked up all the papers and put them back in his folder, hurriedly rushing them out the F hall and trying to find where the D hall was. It didn't take long for him to just feel overwhelmed with all this travel nonsense. "Everything made so much sense back when I was in the service," he grunted. "All ya had to do was line up and file in place. Civilians don't know how to do shit."

"Papa..."

"Yes, darlin'?"

"I'm tired..."

"I'm tired, too," Cid said. "Is that one over there it? I can't see it, the lighting's all messed up..."

Kain squinted before he said, "Yeah, that's it."

Yet another desk to report in. At least this time, the person at the desk knew what they were doing. Everything was all set up, ready to go. They just had to wait until it was time to board. The Highwind family sat on a bench, with Canti leaning into her cousin's side. She let out a yawn. They were quiet for a while, just watching and listening to all the hustle and bustle going on around them. There were many people checking in for that flight. But as long as they had their tickets and passports, they'd have secure seats.

"You two hungry?" Cid asked out of nowhere.

Kain nodded and Canti put her hand on her tummy only to say, "Very!"

"Stay put," he said, getting up. He pulled out his wallet, putting all the important papers in his backpack. "Kain. If they call our name, you know what to do."

"Got it."

As Cid ran off to get them some lunch, Canti yawned again. Boy, airports sure were boring! She looked out the huge windows to see the runway. Why did her father and cousin want to work with airplanes, anyway? She saw how many airplanes were lined up against the hallway, connected by what looked like tubes to the doors into the airplanes themselves. That had to have been how people got on them, especially with that door so high up on something so tall like that. "...Kain?"

"What's up?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Why do you and Papa want to work with airplanes so much?" she asked in a very complaining sort of way.

"Have you ever seen an airplane fly?" Kain asked.

"In the sky, yeah."

"No, no," Kain said, pointing out the window. "I mean, have you seen how they launch? If you watch, you'll see how they go really fast and then, they'll take off." He smiled. "These airplanes aren't the kind that Uncle Cid and I work on, though."

"What's the difference?" Canti asked curiously.

"The airplanes that Uncle Cid's been working on all his life are not meant for carrying passengers. They're defense vehicles for the military, meant to keep people safe," he explained. "They go really fast to fight off the bad guys, keeping our land safe. I'm just an apprentice, but I want to do the exact same thing he does. I want to protect our home and my family more than anything. My dad, he..."

"You wanna be like Uncle Richard," she didn't quite get it, but it was one of the few things that made Kain light up, the thought of protecting his family while in the air. That meant it had to be a good thing. "Papa says he's a hero."

"My dad is a hero," he said proudly. "More heroic than anyone I've ever known in my entire life."

"Well. My Papa is a hero, too."

"As a mechanical engineer, you bet he is!" he said, ruffling her hair. "If it weren't for smart people like Uncle Cid, the pilots wouldn't have anything to fly."

"And that's why we're moving to Palamecia?" Canti asked.

"It is... ever since Mysidia decided to abandon all of the military for a theocratic way of life, we've been out of work," Kain said. "So adults have to go where there's work they can do. That's just how it is."

Canti smiled at that. "Maybe moving isn't such a bad idea," she leaned into him even more. "As long as we are together, we can do what we want to do!"

"And what do you wanna do?" Kain asked.

She kept staring out the huge windows, watching other airplanes being boarded. "...I wanna be like you and Papa Cid..." she gripped onto her plush bunny. "To prove that I'm a Highwind just as much as you are!"

"That's..." Kain let out a half laugh. "...you bear the family name, so you're a Highwind. You don't have anything to be afraid of."

"You don't get it. You're related by blood!"

"Canti..." Kain lifted his arm up so she could lean in closer. "...you don't get it. You're one of us. You always will be one of us."

Cid came up with bags of fast food and passed out three wrapped sandwiches, three tiny boxes of fries, and three drink cups with straws. "Chow down!" It wasn't the best food in the world, but that didn't matter when you were hungry. They didn't talk much while eating except when Canti picked off the pickles to pass them over to Cid. Even though the sour taste lingered on her sandwich, she didn't complain. Now wasn't the time to complain. She just ate and tried to enjoy it. She liked fried chicken and how it crunched into the lettuce with the cheese and the mayo was creamy and the buns were warm and toasty... The fries were crispy and salty and hot... Canti tried to focus on that instead.

The sign above showed that the flight was going to be delayed even more.

"Are you fucking kidding?!" Cid gasped. "Another delay?!"

"Clearly the relationship between Mysidia and Palamecia is growing that much worse by the minute," Kain said, disappointed.

"Can we at least take off before they close the borders completely?!" Cid asked, suddenly losing his appetite. He just wrapped up the rest of his sandwich and put it away. He hadn't had good work for months, and it took connections the world over from his time in the service to even land him that job on the other side of the planet. He couldn't be left without work, and thus without a way to provide for his family. "Goddess damn it all..."

"Cosmos herself would be disgusted with the way the relationships between nations have ended up, for sure," Kain rolled his eyes. "The Mysidians wanna talk about the Goddess this and that, but she wouldn't want this bullshit."

Canti sat between them and didn't really understand what they were talking about. All she knew was that they were mad about it. And seeing them mad only made her mad. She finished all the food she was given, though, before she yawned again. Kain was nice enough to pat his lap to signal that she could use him as a pillow. Sometimes, he felt more like a big brother she could look up to rather than just her cousin. The tighter she held onto her stuffed bunny, the closer she grew to falling asleep. Kain just put his hand in her hair, eating his his free hand.

A few moments later, someone came through with a lot of security. Men in black suits and airport security both surrounded whoever this was. Cid and Kain watched them, wondering who that could have been. The person in the middle of all that fuss was a young man, perhaps only a few years older than that of Canti. His hair was a brighter gold than the gleaming sun, though a tad messy for someone with so much attention on him, and he wore a very expensive-looking uniform suit. A badge on his suit jacket caught Kain's eye. He'd seen that crest before.

"...the prep school's crest," Kain grunted.

"That one in the center of the city?" Cid asked. "The one that rejected you?"

"The very same."

"Rich brat."

"With that much security, gotta wonder if he can even tie his shoes freely," Kain muttered.

"Don't be like that. It's not the kid's fault that his parents are flaunting every bit of coin they've got in the bank," Cid replied. "I bet when he grows up, he'll be the one all the girls go crazy over... handome and wealthy? A recipe for plenty of willing fangirls..."

"Don't jynx yourself, Uncle Cid. Canti might grow up to crush on him."

"Oh, no. My daughter's gonna have taste in men," Cid scoffed at such a suggestion. "She'll be able to see the true heart of any man she meets, and she'll know that kind of kid just won't be the right one for her."

"You say that now..."

The young man sat in a bench right across from the one the Highwinds sat at, and the only ones who sat around him were his own security guards. He looked both bored and annoyed as he looked around. He wasn't at home with all this hustle and bustle, either. The one thing he noticed was in the seat right in front of him. There, laying between two blonde men wearing jackets befitting the armed forces of Mysidia, lay a girl with blue hair. Quickly he looked around at other people in the area. No one else had blue hair. This was the Grand Mysidian Airport, wasn't it? Weren't blue haired people a thing here? This girl, clutching a bunny plush in her arms, in the deepest of sleeps amid all the noise and mess of the airport. What was she doing here? Why would she be flying away from Mysidia, with two men wearing Mysidian military uniforms? What a puzzle this was.

A few hours passed. Kain watched over the family as Cid passed out from all the boredom. Eventually, a light turned on at the desk right next to the door that led onto the airplane.

"Calling those who need to preboard," a woman's voice said over the loudspeaker. "Children and those who need extra assistance..."

Suddenly Kain woke out of his stupor. He nudged Cid on the shoulder. "Hey, Uncle, they're boarding families with children."

"That'd be us!" Cid said, picking up his daughter as gently as possible. He tried to hang her over his shoulder. "We're comin', just hold on, please!"

"Right this way, sir," a flight attendant said, motioning for him to come closer.

"You got the rest, Kain?" he asked.

Kain snatched up all their backpacks and nodded. "We're good."

As Cid carried her for them to check in, Canti slowly began to wake up. She noticed that she was looking over Cid's shoulder and that Kain was right behind her. He winked at her and she smiled. She heard the sound of a stamp at the desk, turning to look at it. They were being led onto the airplane! It was almost time to go! She let out a yawn and stretched before she noticed that her hands were empty. Took her a few more steps before she realized that she'd dropped her bunny.

"...uhh?" she groaned sleepily.

"Hey, baby girl," Cid said. "You can go back to sleep. Just gonna buckle you into the seat and we're off..."

"Papa, no..." she cried. "...wait, wait!"

"What's wrong?"

"...Lucia!" she cried again,

"Your bunny doll?" Kain looked around, checking all the bags. "I'm sorry, I don't have it in here."

"But... but we can't leave her!" Canti said, her eyes watering. "She can't stay here all alone!"

Cid shook his head. "I'm so sorry, but we have to go now. They're waiting for us."

"But Papa Cid...!"

Cid gripped her tighter and kept walking inside the tube to take her into the airplane. Kain followed obediently. She didn't get louder, but she did keep crying. Her bunny wasn't just a toy, but she clung to that thing during all the hard times. She'd had it for a long time.

"Wait," a voice said behind Kain. "Is this her... Lucia, she called it?"

Kain and Cid stopped to turn around, seeing that young man they'd made fun of under their breath standing there, holding Canti's plush in his hand.

"Lucia!" Canti smiled, nearly jumping out of her father's arms to get it. "You saved her!"

He gave the bunny to her. She hugged it as tightly as she could, and then she suddenly ran up to him and grasped around him tightly, too. His security guards were completely baffled by this, almost wanting to remove her from him by force. "Oh...!" he said, surprised. "That... must be important..." He gave a signal to cause them to calm down.

"You don't understand," she said through tears of relief. "I've had Lucia ever since... even before I was adopted. She's the only thing I have from my real parents..." Canti smiled. "Th-thank you, kind stranger. Thank you so much!"

He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You're welcome, princess..."

That was... so strange. It caught her off guard. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. That tone of voice. Calling her something like that... it made her feel full of confidence she'd never known before. Canti pulled away from this kind stranger, turning back to her father and cousin. "Okay! I'm ready to go to this new land now!" she said, taking Cid's hand with one of hers, and using the other to cling to her bunny. "I'm... not going to be afraid anymore."

"That's my girl," Cid said. "Now you better not lose Lucia again. I don't think we'll always have a kind stranger to bring her back to you."

"No, you're right," Canti said. "I won't let her go until we get to our new home."

"Sounds like a plan to me..."

This journey was going to be long and hard. Longer than any other journey anyone the entire Highwind family had ever been on.

* * *

:::::::TEN YEARS LATER::::::

The desert sun made everyone within the Highwind Aeronautics workshop glisten with salty sweat. Everyone, whether they were drawing up plans for the next engine to be constructed or working on a model that they would pitch to the higher ups within the Flight Technology Commission, was beaten down by the intense heat that could only be found in a place like this. Clearer skies never existed anywhere else in the world, but neither did this head.

"All right," Kain said, wiping his face with a rag. "I think this will be the one we present." He waited for Cid to come out from under the motor he was working on.

Cid came up, covered all over in hydrolic oils and motor grease. "Nope," he said, shaking his head. "This one would explode the moment you turn it on!"

"What?"

"Too much pressure and no way to let it out, ya numbskull," Cid slapped him on the back of the head. "Use this piece of shit up here!"

"Uncle!" Kain grunted.

"We have to present something or we're gonna lose our funding..." Cid said, sighing. He wiped his hands before looking up at the ceiling. "Baby girl? You up there?"

Canti's face appeared in the skylight hole above, her blue twin braids falling through due to gravity's grasp. "What is it, Papa?" she asked,

"Do you wanna revise your cousin's awful design and show him who's the real engineer in here?" he asked, causing her to gasp in excitement. Kain just rolled his eyes.

Her face disappeared and both of them heard her feet clomping along the roof of the building. Within a few moments, she slid down a pole and she was right in the center of the workshop. Behind her ear was a pencil and strapped to the top of her head were a pair of goggles that matched her father's. She wore cutoff overalls that wrapped around her chest, and she, too, was covered in motor grease. She immediately snatched the clipboard up and pulled the pencil from her ear, "The design is nice, but it has some major flaws," she said, scribbling over it. "It has to be compact. The way you had it designed, cousin, it was going to explode the moment you try to start it up!"

"Yeah okay, thanks for pointing it out again," Kain groaned. "I'm not supposed to be a designer, I'm supposed to be a pilot! I'm not as good at this as you are!"

Canti smiled, showing him her notes. "It has promise, though. With my fixes to the design, it'll be something we can present to our investors. We did it together, okay? I won't take all the credit for it."

"No, Canti... you really are fixing all my mistakes," Kain said. "I'd... much rather be flying, you know?"

"How about... I build you something to fly!" Canti shouted, hugging around him. "That way you get what you want, and I get to keep being the proud aspiriing engineer daughter of the best engineer ever, Cid Highwind!"

"Honestly," Cid said, taking the clipboard to look over her changes, "You really might be the one to inherit the business at this rate."

"Sounds fun!" she said. "I just want to honor you and the family name, Papa."

"But... by doing that, you aren't doing much for yourself," he said, concerned. "You're a Highwind, sure, but you're also your own person. Don't you want to... do something just for you?"

Canti tucked the pencil back into her ear and went to fetch her personal toolbox. "Papa Cid."

"Yes?"

"Shut up and help me build this! Our family depends upon it!" she said, taking the design from the clipboard that she had drawn all over and slapped it up onto the project board on the wall.

"...yes, darlin'..."

"The FTC is gonna be so impressed, our lives are going to change," she said loudly with a commanding air. "One week, and everything changes! Everything! We'll be respected for our designs and make so much money that we won't have to live in a garage anymore!" Canti looked up at the clear sky, charged with a contagious, infectuous energy that just could not be contained. "Just you wait, sky! One of my inventions will be streaking across you and change everything! Everything!"

* * *

There was an empty place in the center of the Palamecian capital where many other engineers and mechanics were setting up stalls and booths to attract the attention of investors and potential buyers of their inventions and designs. It was on this day, an exilerating Saturday morning, when Canti and Kain were setting up their own to represent the business owned by Cid, named Highwind Aeronautics. She had her hair pulled up into a french braid that wafted around her shoulders every time she moved. And she still wore her goggles and kept the pencil behind her ear and held a clipboard in her right hand. It didn't take long for Cid to come up to them, Who knew if anyone would stop by? Who knew if they had any interest in what they had built? Canti was so very confident that someone out there wanted what they'd built so much that it was going to change their lives, simply because she was afraid to look at in any other way.

"You ready for this?" Kain asked her. She was almost shaking with excitement.

"Am I ever ready for anything?" she asked in reply, giving a thumbs up.

"You're nervous," Cid said.

"I'll put that nervous energy to use," Canti declared, standing with her back ramrod straight. "This is our future on the line. This is the family's legacy on the line. I don't have a choice on whether I'm ready for this or not! I just have to face it and stare it down and deal with it!"

"...that's... very authoritarian of you," Kain said. "You... command attention when you stand like that."

"Really?" she asked. "You think they might listen to me if I stand like this during presentation?"

"...yes," both Kain and Cid said at the same time.

"Oh, great! That would be one more thing to add to our advantage, then." Canti smiled. "How long until it starts?"

"Not very long," Kain said, pointing over to the gate of the plaza. "If you look over there, you can see the gathering of investors."

"Lotta suits," she breathed out, staring into the distance.

"They're the ones with the money to invest," Cid said, shrugging. "The ones with the money are the ones we gotta impress."

"And we're going to," she said. "I believe it, so you have to believe it too!"

"I have faith in your design," he said. "I've always had faith in your designs. That's why I named you as our lead engineer on all of our fliers and official paperwork."

"What?" she gasped. "I'm... I'm not the lead, Papa. You are!"

"No, pumpkin. You've even spotted faults in my own designs and corrected my own tuning on existing engines," Cid said, almost blushing. "I'm gettin' old, and while I've taught you everything I know, you've been able to take it up to the next level." He patted her on the back. "Now when those rich assholes come over here, you show them that spirit, that confidence. Maybe even a little bit of that arrogance."

"I'm not arrogant."

"Arrogance might as well be your middle name," he corrected her. "But that could be put to use in this sort of market. You aren't just selling your inventions, you're selling yourself, too. They have to believe they can work with you. And they won't work with a pushover. So don't be one."

Canti watched as those men and women in uniforms and suits started pouring in and heading in all sorts of directions. She hadn't been this nervous since the day they all moved from their home country to here. That only made her retrace her steps through school, then through mechanical training. All because she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps in becoming an engineer and to support her cousin's dream of one day being a pilot. She took in a deep breath as she remembered many things that led her up to this moment. How they went to museums to study the history of flight. How they traveled the country of Palamecia looking for someone to take them in and hire them, but eventually having to settle for renting out a garage to call home. Doing odd jobs for years, they managed to barely break even and that was about it. This was their chance to move up in the world! She saw some of them slowly make their way down the hall of booths that their booth was set up in, and she almost began to hyperventilate.

Kain reached over, giving her a pat of reassurance. "You've got this," he said, winking at her. "Come on. Keep it together."

"I'm... so... nervous..."

"We all are so nervous we could explode right now," he said. "You've got all you need, cousin. Hold it together. We're here with you."

Canti nodded, doing her best to keep her composure until someone had stopped right in front of their table. She did her best to smile and appear confident like Papa Cid suggested. It wasn't easy. She wanted to tremble and fold herself into a little ball and be shoved into a pocket of non-existence. She tried not to focus on the judging eyes of the suit there, instead staring at a brooch on the suit's chest. "Good day, sir," she said.

"I see from your displays here that you have reinvented the engine? Care to explain?" the suit asked.

"But of course!" she said. Asking her to explain her invention was a great way to get her to feel confident. She explained absolutely everything as clearly as possible while pointing at both the diagrams on the display and the example machine they had constructed to present in the center of the booth. Kain turned it on and demonstrated how cleanly it ran. She went into every single detail, rapid fire style, and the more she talked about it, the more investors came over to see what she was talking about.

"The exhaust? Where is the exhaust?" one suit asked behind many others that had wandered over.

"That's a good question!" she beamed. "One failed engine failed simply because it had no way to relieve the exhaust. I thought it would be a great thing if an engine didn't let off any exhaust at all. Good for the environment, too! So I came up with a way for the engine to keep using the exhaust that it lets off instead of it just becoming a greenhouse gas which makes for pollution, as you all are very aware."

"So, it only takes fuel to ignite, and then once the process starts, it only uses the exhaust it lets out to continue running?!" another asked for clarity.

"That's right!" she said, keeping her back straight in that confident, authoritarian way that both Kain and Cid said would be impressive. It was difficult to keep holding that exact stance for so long. But she refused to let them down. She had to do this. She was going to save her family and its legacy, no matter what it cost!

"Now that is an absolute miracle of science," a voice said, clapping from between many other suits. The one who spoke was a man, taller than most, with long blonde hair that almost trailed down to his butt. His vibrant purple eyes glimmered as they looked upon Canti and her presentation. "I represent Palamecian Petrolium, and I would love to discuss this invention of your further, if I may."

"What... do you mean?" she asked, looking over at Cid. She didn't know how to answer that.

"What the young man means is that he wants to discuss in ways he can invest in this project," Cid said gently. "Forgive my daughter, she's never-"

"There is nothing to forgive," the man said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a business card.

The moment that happened, everyone else cleared out. Canti began to panic. She wanted to call out for all of them to stay. Just because one guy decided to give them a business card didn't mean anything! At least, not yet! She bit her lip. Her confidence was falling apart.

"Kain, you wanna get your cousin some water?" Cid asked as he walked up to face this man in the suit with his daughter. She wasn't going to face this alone, and right at that moment, he figured that's why she was losing her focus. The suit placed the card directly into Canti's hand.

"You will pack up," he said sternly.

"What?" Cid asked. "The day's hardly started, and-"

"No one else will take interest in you," he said, his tone of voice not changing. "Not that I've taken interest."

"How is that even fair?" Cid demanded.

The man smiled, staring right at Canti. "You've invented something stunning that this world can find a real use for," he said coaxingly, directly to her. He didn't even notice her father standing there. "Once you've packed up and taken things back to wherever it is you keep your mechanical things, call me at this number. We will meet and discuss the future of your lovely invention."

She just nodded and Cid pulled her behind him.

"You will not intimidate my daughter!" he screamed. "Conduct business professionally or I'll report you to-"

"Papa..." she said, turning to look at him.

"Canti?"

"...let me handle this," she said, looking back down at the card in her hand. "I told you that what we've built will save our family. I fully intend to make that happen."

"I refuse to sell your invention to someone that conducts his busine-"

"Papa!" she said, with both her eyes watering and using her authoritarian tone of voice. "Pack it up!"

"...oh, all right," Cid sighed as he bent down to unhook the anchor that held the machine in place.

"I look forward to working with you, miss... Canti, he called you?"

"My name is Canti Highwind," Canti said proudly. "That man is my father. I would appreciate it if you treated him with respect."

"I will honor your request, Miss Canti," he replied. "When you're ready, call me at the number on the card."

"All right," she agreed.

He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Until we meet again, Princess."

She gasped. The last time anyone had addressed her as such was back at the airport! Her heart beat so loudly that she could feel no other sensation throughout her entire body. Now that she stopped to think about it, the boy that was nice to her there also have brilliant bright yellow hair that almost glowed when the sunlight fell upon it. He pulled away from her to turn and walk away, and she just watched him go before looking down at the card.

 _Mateus Palamecia_  
 _Owner of Palamecian Petrol_

 _...what? How is his name the same as the entire country?_ she thought, pushing it into her front pocket.

* * *

Back at home, the family sat around the table to try to figure out where to go from here. Canti decided she was going to call the man who gave her the card no matter what, but Kain was hesitant and Cid was completely against it. They argued for a good while about what to do until she stood up and screamed at them that she was going to make good on her promise to change their lives. She picked up their work phone and while Cid and Kain were prepared to snatch it out of her hands, she went ahead and dialed the number on the card.

"Hello?"

"Um, hello... I was given a card this morning by one... Mateus Palamecia?" she asked. "...did I... say that right?"

"Ah, yes! Miss Canti, the lovely proprietress of the Highwind Aeronautics," the voice on the line replied. "Is something wrong?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Your hesitation. Have I done anything to frighten you?"

"No, no, sir," she shook her head as she answered, feeling her heart beat increase the more she listened to his voice. It was so tempting just to fall into it. Listening to him was unlike anything she'd ever heard before. "I wanted to continue the discussion about my invention."

"But of course. Would you like to discuss it over dinner tonight?"

"...if that's how you would like to do it, I don't see why not," she replied. "Though wouldn't an office make more sense?"

"Because offices are boring. I don't particularly like being in mine..."

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense..." she blushed at the idea of discussing anything over dinner with a man like that. ",,,where do you need me to meet you?"

"What's your favorite meal?"

"...what kind of question is that?"

"Answer me. What's your favorite meal?"

She shook her head. "This is a business meeting, sir, I don't see what that has to do with anything!"

"You'll answer me, or I will not invest in your company or your invention."

"That's... playing dirty..."

"Do you want to improve your life? The lives of your family? Just answer my question. That's all I ask of you."

"My favorite meal is... lamb gyros," she answered honestly. "I... I can't get enough of them."

"Ah! Then I will meet you in one hour at the central plaza of the city. Next to the fountain. Is that agreeable?"

"I accept!" she said, almost angry at him for pulling this kind of nonsense. "You better make this worth my while, mister!"

"Very well. It's a date."

"No, it's not!" she slammed the phone down on the reciever and grumbled as the turned to climb the ladder up to her area of the garage.

"...what happened?" Kain asked. "You're... pissed off...?"

"I have to get dressed for a dinner date now!"

Cid just cocked his head to the side. "I'm... I'm sorry, do what now?"

"I have to get dressed for dinner because he won't talk to me about investing in either our company or the special engine unless I do this."

"What kind of MONSTER does that?!" Cid yelled. "You can't go!"

"I have to, though, Papa," Canti said as she went through her boxes of clothes until she found the one nice dress she had. She hadn't ever worn it once. She didn't even remember how she got it. But the fact remains that she had it on hand, and that's what she was going to wear. "I'm going to make our lives better."

"But at what cost?" he pleaded as she lept down from her area of the garage and slipped on the one pair of shoes she owned that wasn't stained with engine grease. "He's going to try to do something. You shouldn't do this... I'm so sorry I made you our spokesperson, I never dreamed someone like him would try to use our work just to get to you... oh baby girl, I can't let you="

She stood at the front door, grabbed her purse, and said, "Papa. I will make this work. He'll invest in our company one way or another. I hate seeing people I love live like this."

"But we have everything we need. We're not suffering," Kain said. "Honestly I'd like to fly, but I'm just glad I have you two here."

"We're the last of the Highwind family now, and we have to take care of each other," Canti said, trying to smile at them. "I don't care what it takes! I'm going to save us! This is the only chance I have, so I'm going to take it! Don't worry about me, Papa, I can take care of myself."

"You say that, but-"

She put her hand up and opened the door. "I'll call you from a payphone to let you know how it goes. I promise that I will be fine. Kain, take care of my father for me, would you?"

"Yes, cousin..." Kain grunted. "Do be careful."

"I'm always careful," she said, winking at them. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to take care of you both." And with that, she walked out of the garage and let the door close on its own.

Cid turned away from the door, lost in a panic. "Oh my poor baby girl... please come back to me safely..."

* * *

Canti walked through the lower end of the capital city of Palamecia, heading to the fountain in the center of the city that Mateus described on the phone. She had seen it every time they came through the middle of the capital. She reflected on the lessons from her school days. The fountain was built in the very center of the city to celebrate the man that original founded and built the city, and eventually the whole country itself. The nation was founded by an Emperor in the ancient days. One that wished to make this the most holy city that ever existed, in the name of the Goddess Cosmos. His name was Palamecia, the first in a long line of Emperors that descended through the ages, all bearing his own name in addition to his own name. The land was named after the founder, too, so that the entire world would know the grand deeds the first Emperor managed to accomplish in his lifetime. Everyone celebrated the first Emperor and honored him, even though now there was no royalty. It was considered archaic by modern standards, she recalled.

As she walked closer, she saw a few people respecting the fountain. One of them was the man that handed her the card this morning. Now that it was later in the day, he didn't seem as shiny, but he certainly seemed to have a glow about him that she couldn't quite place. What was it about him that made him stand out like that?

She didn't disturb his respectful praying. She walked up beside him and looked at the statue, wondering if the first Emperor really was the grand man the entire country named after him believed him to be. It was possible that the man was also a tyrant, but these people were so loyal to their land that they couldn't see him as anything other than a magnificent hero.

When he looked up from his prayer, he noticed she was standing right next to him with an expression on her face. She may not have been praying, but she was respectfully thinking, and that was enough for him at the moment. "Did you have to come far?" he asked, turning to her.

"No, I walked here from the shop. We're in the low-end district," she answered, also turning to face him.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, taking her hands into his. "I am Mateus Palamecia. At your service."

"I all ready know who you are," she replied, blushing at that. No one had ever been so formal with her in her life. "You gave me your card."

"Yes, I did," he nodded. "But it would be rude of me to not introduce myself to you directly. The last thing a descendant of a long line of Emperors would want is to be seen as rude."

"You're descended from him, the first Emperor?" Canti asked, pointing at the statue in the very center of the fountain.

"I am indeed," he replied. "Please, let us go before it gets cold."

"Agreed," she said. "I insist we get down to business as quickly as possible."

"What is business without a little pleasure?" Mateus asked, motioning for her to follow him. They walked together down one of the many sidewalks that branched from the central area.

"Business is business, pleasure is pleasure," she said, admiring all the nice archetecture of the buildings they passed. One of the bookstores used to be a temple in the ancient days, and it was so amazing that it still stood all this time later. What brillance the archetects of the olden days must have been to have their work stand the test of time like that! She found it inspiring. "They are not one and the same."

"They may not be, but I am not the type to only focus on work," he said, watching what her eyes focused on. She had an eye for intricate details in things, sometimes stopping to stare at carvings or mosaics as they went along. "If we are to work together, I believe we must be friends. Having common ground makes it much easier to connect with someone."

"Now that does make sense," she said as she became fixated upon a statue of a dragon that also happened to be a pillar that supported a large building. "To be friends, one can know how the other thinks and can better plan around that. No need for things to be awkward."

"Then we do agree to a certain point," Mateus said. "I appreciate that."

As she stared at that statue, she wondered if there was a way to make her designs not only functional, but also pleasing to the eye. She didn't even hear the last thing he said to her. She just marveled at how it was cut to look like a real dragon, and that dragon was supporting what could have been a ten story building... she could have sworn it was wood, but staring at it from this distance there was no way to know what exactly it was made of.

"Do you... like dragons?" he asked curiously.

"I like dragons fine, but that's not what's so interesting about this," she said. Canti described the wonder she felt just looking at the piece to him. "It just... gives me ideas for my next engine plan. I've never been in this area of the city, so... all of these little things are so amazing." Then she immediately turned away from the statue and shook her head. "I'm so sorry. I'm keeping us from our meeting!"

"Heaven forbid I stop a mind like yours from being inspired," Mateus said, smiling. "You are brilliant, Canti. I'm quite taken with how your mind works."

"...taken?" she asked, laughing. "Oh, never mind me. I can come walking through here after work later. No need to keep you here."

"It does not bother me," he said kindly. "Things like this, I have seen all my life. Even after visiting so many cities to see so many things, I do not even think to stop and admire the carvings in the buildings or other similar things. After seeing your immediate fascination, I am beginning to believe I have taken all of these sorts of things for granted. You have opened my eyes to something I never believed possible, and for that, I offer you my deepest gratitude." He bowed to her to convey a deep sense of respect.

"The... descendant of an Emperor need not bow to a poor girl like me. Please."

He looked around for a moment and pointed to a nearby restaurant. "We're here anyway," he said. "You said that you enjoy gyros, yes?"

"Of course I do!" she said, looking into her purse. "Though..."

"What troubles you?"

"I don't have a lot of gil on me," she said. "Not for a fancy place like that."

"I invited you! I would not accept you paying for this," Mateus said, snatching her hand and leading her through the door. The place was much nicer than the grease spoon where she usually would go to chow down on her favorite food. There was classy music playing in the background and most of the people sitting in booths that she could see were wearing much nicer clothes than she'd ever owned in her entire life. He told a waitress to let them have a table for two, and slipped her a card. The moment she set her eyes upon it, her expression changed and they were immediately brought to a nice table far away from other patrons. The card was slipped back into Mateus' hand when they were seated. Even though it seemed like the he and the waitress were trying to hide what they were doing, Canti had seen the whole thing. She didn't know what that card meant, but she did know that it meant they didn't have to wait in line or eat around other people. "There we are. Now we can discuss things without pesky others coming around. Feel free to be as comfortable as you like."

"How can I be comfortable in a fancy place like this? I'm so underdressed and-"

He put his hand up. "Once things fall into place, you'll be a regular at this sort of establishment. You'll be able to treat your family to the best there is to offer in life." Mateus smiled. "Please, take a look at the menu."

Canti decided that would be a good idea instead of feeling so nervous that she wasn't able to focus. She picked it up, noticing it was made of the softest, smoothest leather that had ever been made. It was so pleasing to the touch that she couldn't stop running her fingers on it. Now she was gonna have to find out what this was so she could get some work gloves made with that material! And then, she looked at the prices of the meals without even seeing what the meals were and slapped it down on the table.

"...what's wrong?" he asked. "My father told me this is the best place to get the lamb meat you enjoy so much."

"I can't do this," she said, beginning to pick up her purse again. Canti had no idea what she had been thinking to agree to something like this. She wasn't going to be able to focus on work when the setting itself was so alienating. It was like she'd stepped into another world! "The price of one dish is more than I make in a week! I get five gil gyros down at the grease spoon just down the road from the shop. That'll do me just fine. This place feels so weird for a peasant like me-"

"I will not have time to consult with you for a while about your invention, and I would rather not hold off any further, considering your living situation." Mateus said, his tone of voice shifting into something much darker than he had been using before. Suddenly she was scared to just get up and leave. "If we seal this deal tonight, right here... you will be able to walk out of this place with money in your bank account. Please calm down. It is not befitting of someone as talented as you."

Canti sat back down and stared at him, watching him pour a glass of wine and placing it before her. Then he poured one for himself. "Then let's skip dinner and get right down to business," she said, waving her hand. "I promised I would do whatever it takes to save my family from further destitution..."

"A valiant cause to fight for," he said.

"Have you ever fought for anything, Mateus?" she asked him directly. "Have you ever done anything you would consider... valiant?"

He glared at her. How could she question him like that when he was being so generous to her? But he wasn't going to act upon those impulses, no, not yet. "I was blessed to be born into a family with prestige and reptutation, but that does not mean that I was automatically given the rights to inherit the family's fortunes." He signed as he looked out the window. "My family does not allow the passage of the family fortunes simply because one is born into the bloodline, as we are no longer simply a royal family. We have to earn what we want once we reach the age to do so. What have I fought for, Miss Canti? For what I desire. I know no other way of living. When I want something, I fight for it until I get it."

"So you're motivated by self gain," she stated. It sounded harsh, but he couldn't refute it.

"I am motivated to fight for what I want," he said, justifying himself. "And there is not much I want in life, other than to take what is mine."

She shook her head. "How can we help each other, then?"

"I will patent and sell your prototype engine to as many companies as needed to provide your family with support. There is no need for you to live in squalor when you've invented something so useful," Mateus said. "But in return, you will give me something, princess."

"That is the third time you have addressed me as princess," she said.

"Third?" he cocked his head to the side. "There is only one I have addressed as princess, and I count twice."

"...the first time was in the airport in Mysidia ten years ago," Canti said quietly.

"You are that girl, with the doll in the white dress?"

She nodded. "I am. You found my bunny."

"You named it Lucia," Mateus recalled it very clearly. "I am glad to know you remembered me all this time later."

"...tell me one thing..."

"Anything."

"Why do you call me that?"

"The royal family in charge of Mysidia, before it overturned to a theocracy, all of them had blue hair," Mates explained. He lifted his glass of wine as he continued, "I saw you with men wearing the military jackets fleeing the country in a hurry. I almost thought you were a runaway princess, fleeing a fate bestowed upon you by the ultra-religious. I could never disrespect a little lost princess even as a youth."

"Oh, no. I was adopted way before we left," she said gently. "And Papa said the work was more available here. That's why we're here now." Canti shrugged.

He stared at her for a few minutes. "Let me say this right now," he said clearly. "I... do not want your invention."

"WHAT!?" she gasped in horror.

"I want you."

"You used all this... Just to..." she slammed her hands on the table, growling. "I have never been more insulted by anyone my entire life! You="

"Now, now," he said, "I know why you came, and that is to better your life. And that of your family as well. I will see that your invention is patented and licensed, sold to manufacturers, whatever must be done. Your family will make its deserved money. But... I want you to be mine."

"What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"I want a wife, and with as intelligent as you've proven yourself to be, you are the only one fit to be my wife," Mateus answered smoothly.

"But I... I don't know you... I can't marry a stranger..."

"I'm not asking you to," he said. "Let me propose this to you. I will put all the money needed into your invention, Canti, right this moment. And you will give me the chance to court you for one year. Even if you do not love me in one year, I will not pull back any funding. If, one year from today, you do indeed love me, we will marry."

She blinked for a moment, letting that idea sink in. Get all the money her family needs to get out of the shithole it was in now, and all it took was simply putting up with one incredibly rich asshole for a year? She let herself fall back into that crushed velvet seat. "Now you're sure... that if I don't love you at the end of the year, you won't... try to screw my family out of all the money its made?"

"I would never stoop to such tactics," Mateus sounded so insulted to be accused of something so dishonest. "All you must do is give me the chance to convince you."

"Mateus, I..."

"Think on it. You have nothing to lose."

She did think about it. There was no way that Papa Cid would ever allow this sort of deal to be made. But he did say that he wanted her to make decisions for herself and not just because she wanted to proved she was a Highwind, too. Her breathing became deep, the more she thought about it. Just one year of her time, that's all it would take... "Fine," she said, nodding. "I'll date you for a year for the chance to see my family in a better situation. Hell yes."

"Excellent," he said, raising his glass of wine to her. "A toast to my future wife."

"To my family." She also rose her glass until the two made a little clink, They drank their glasses at the same time, beginning a conversation of many topics that would not end until well after midnight that night.

* * *

Within the first week, Canti had directed everything at the old Highwind Aeronautics garage to be moved to a much better place within a nicer part of the city. She used the money that she'd made to allow Kain to participate in flight school so that he might be able to chase his dream, and Cid was left to tinker with all the machines that he could ever want at the new garage. She bought the family a new home right next to it, so no one had to sleep on a filthy, greasy floor anymore. Changes were being made everywhere to every aspect of their lives. Canti spent much less time at her desk drawing up designs and tinkering with the motors she loved working on for years. It was the price she decided to pay. After all, she knew that she'd be returning to that simple life when her time was up. She did miss it terribly, though.

She didn't tell either Cid or Kain about the deal she made, and she never planned to. All she did was slip off when no one was paying attention to her, off to attend to what she felt was her new workplace, which was keeping Mateus company to wherever he wanted to go. He treated her to restaurants all through the city, walked with her through parks and museums, let her spend an entire afternoon in a library, and belted love ballads at karaoke establishments. He bought her flowers and gifts of all sorts, always respecting her in a genuine manner. But she never let him in too close. This was just some silly deal to entertain some rich guy. She wasn't going to let him win her over and have to deal with this for the rest of her life!

After they'd been dating for a good three months, their relationship began to change. Mateus kissed her for the first time, and she didn't know how to handle that. It was the first time she ever experienced something like that. She stayed away from him for a week, but went back to him out of fear that he would pull the plug on her family's happiness. The next time they shared a kiss, he let her come to him. It was a slow burn, but he was working his way through her a little at a time. She would let him hold her while they sat together, she leaned into him much more often, and she reached for his hand to hold it while they walked through the parks and museums like they enjoyed doing.

After they'd been dating for six months, he took her to his home and showed her what it was like living as someone incredibly rich in the middle of this massive desert. He turned on music within the grand ballroom of his mansion and brought her to dance with him. Canti and Mateus shared a beautiful dance that lasted a long time, both of them falling into each other that much further until he picked her up off her feet, took her to his personal bedroom, and made love to her while embraced by the moonlight that peeked through the curtains. He held her to him, tracing every single detail of her figure with his lips, highlighting every feature she owned, gently claiming each piece of her body. She didn't fight him off, she didn't look at him with contempt, and she didn't offer a single complaint. She only let him do as he wished.

Time passed, and eventually, they had been together for a year. Everyone who looked upon them could tell how deeply in love they'd grown. Even people that didn't agree with their relationship at first, like Cid, could tell that Canti was more than happy being with him. She'd never stood so proudly before. He gave his blessing for the two to be wed, and a grand celebration was held to congratulate the last of the Palamecian royal family's living son's union. They danced once again in front of the entire world while singers told songs of the love they saw between the two of them, spinning together, deeper and deeper into each other's essence. It was the most romantic time, many proclaimed throughout the world. The most powerful they'd ever seen love grow. Many called it a dream romance that could only exist in fairy tales, a Cinderella story that would echo through the hearts of all lovers that ever were.

...


End file.
